Happy Birthday, Hayden!!

Three years ago today at 12:02am, my first little boy came into the world.  He was perfect!  Measuring in at 21inches long and 8lbs, 5 oz, we named him Hayden Parker.  Our world would never be the same!!

Only about 30 minutes old with his daddy.

Click HERE to read the original post on Hayden's birth story.

Just one year ago on this day at 11pm we were racing to the hospital thinking Mr. Taylor would be born on Hayden's 2nd birthday!  That didn't happen--I got sent home at about 4am.  There's just something about January 31st, though!

Hayden's 2nd birthday--We were SOOOOOOOOO tired that day!

Click HERE to read all about that fiasco!

This year I surprised Hayden upon waking up.  I taped a web of crepe paper across his doorway and stuck balloons between the door and web.  Let me tell you--blowing up every single one of those balloons was an act of love--i have the biggest cold right now!  Talk about a challenge.  So that explains why there's only about five balloons--I did my best!!

Before....

I love that his little hand was over his eyes!  I got Taylor up first because he was crying and usually by the time I do that and turn the hallway light on, Hayden is waking up and moving around in his bed.  Today, however, he did not.  I woke him up by softly knocking on his door and calling his name.  Thankfully, it worked!

Look at that smile!  He loved it.  Paul thought the balloons dropping would make him nervous but Hayden was soooo happy!

Look at that face!

Good morning Taylor!  I love that face.

Oh yeah...I have teeth.  Happy birthday Hayden!

Hayden requested bubbles today--just out of the blue!  So Paul entertained him for a few minutes and let me sleep on the couch.  

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but i totally made Hayden's cake, frosting and all, from scratch.  That's pretty good when you're sick!  Hayden was so excited.  He got to put the sprinkles and candle on, and that was pretty special.  

Hayden had a blast opening presents, most of which were sent by our families.  Hayden is one lucky boy!

Aaaand Taylor didn't mind helping opening presents.

Lastly, we let Hayden open his huge present from mom & dad.

When he realized what it was (a kitchen and shopping cart), he literally started jumping with excitement!  It was a huge hit!

Pushing the shopping cart filled with food.  

Yes...the boys (and I) were in our jammies the whoooooooole day!  Everyone has been sick--we even had to cancel the family dinner we were planning because we all just don't feel good.  So this birthday goes down in the record books for our little family.  The first (and hopefully only) where the whole family was sick!  

Snow Day! January 9th, 2014

Hayden on the porch.

On the drive home from work and picking up the kids from daycare, I noticed how gorgeous the weather was.  Sure there was snow--a lot, at that, but it was sunny and fairly warm.  NO WIND!  I decided today was the day we'd take Taylor out in the snow.  

The front yard.

Our snow was about a foot deep...maybe even deeper!  This was my footprint in the snow.  

Hayden loved it.  Grandma and Grandpa Kirby got him a new snowsuit and it was perfect for this outing.  

SELFIE!  This one came out a bit blurry but Paul wasn't home to take a picture of us playing, so a selfie was the best I could do.  We were having some fun shoveling snow.

Taylor, on the other hand, was NOT amused.  He did NOT want to touch the snow.  I ended up bundling him up in a warm suit and blanket in his car seat.  Believe me he was warm--when I took him out he was practically sweating!  

Taylor was not a happy little boy--

Hayden has been obsessed with tractors and trailors lately.  He "hooked up" his "trailor" (a mini red wagon) to his car and started packing it with snow so he could haul it away.  

Packing the trailer with snow.

He also tried to help me shovel the walk and driveway.  The shovel was WAAAAY too big for him, and the foot or so of snow proved to be way too much.  Good thing after shoveling my car out our neighbor (I call him Mr. Farmer because I don't know his name and he farms most of the land in the neighborhood) came and plowed our driveway with his tractor.

LOVE him!

Such a great helper.

This was SOOOO necessary!

Ok...it was time for this.  I FINALLY got a new camera!  

And not just any camera...I got a DSLR--the Canon Rebel t3!  I so needed this.  My old camera was just a Nikon point and shoot.  Remember when Ashton Kutcher was doing ads for Nikon?  Yeah, that's how long ago I bought my camera.  And I bought it for that reason--Ashton was pitching them!  

That little camera was good to me-I got it my first semester of college and it survived 4+ years.  Looking at it the other day, I realized how much I abused it!  The body was badly dinged and covered in who knows what (the result of just carrying it around in my purse and backpack without putting it in a case first).  The hinged flap that enclosed the SD card and battery was broken meaning whenever I used it, I had to hold it closed with one finger.

Classy.

Then there was the matter of the horrible pictures it took.  Dark back grounds, blurry faces....I was done.  

So there's the story of the need for a new camera.  The blog posts from now on will contain GLORIOUS pictures!  I'm still learning how to use my DSLR, so if you have any tips, let me know!!

(And of course a special thank you to Mike & Bonnie Kirby, Joe & Angela Vossenkuhl, and the Idaho Falls Dental Group for making this purchase possible!!)